Parkhurst positive about Crew return

It’s been a rough couple of days for Michael Parkhurst, but that doesn’t cut him much slack inside the Crew locker room.

Moments after the former United States World Cup hopeful had played the final three minutes plus stoppage time of tonight’s 2-0 win against Chicago, Parkhurst was surrounded by reporters at his locker inside Crew Stadium as Steve Clark entered the locker room. The blue-clad goalkeeper sized up the situation and began to shout over the commotion – jokingly – that Parkhurst had played a mere six minutes in the win.

“It was a solid six though, Steve,” Clark said with a laugh.

The fact that Parkhurst was able to make light of the situation shows in part why he has already become such a vital part of this year’s Crew roster. The team captain was treated to a loud, standing ovation from those of the 15,290 fans who remained until the very end.

It was a positive ending to an otherwise bitterly disappointing week for Parkhurst, who came back to Major League Soccer during the offseason with an eye on consistent minutes with the Crew propelling him into a spot on the World Cup roster. Instead, he was one of seven players who were surprisingly dismissed Thursday afternoon.

Tonight, he held his head high at Crew Stadium.

“I don’t think there’s anything I could have done more,” he said. “I don’t think there was anything negative on my part that made him (coach Jurgen Klinsmann) not choose me. I just think that his mind was set up even before the camp was started. That makes it a little easier to swallow knowing I don’t think I could have done anything else.”

The roster moves came as a surprise, Parkhurst said.

“It’s tough,” he said. “We didn’t know that the cuts were coming that day, so no expectations there. It’s difficult of course. That was the ultimate dream, but you have to bounce back and be a professional. Now my sole focus is the Crew.”

Friday, Crew coach Gregg Berhalter said Parkhurst would largely determine his own availability for the game after Friday’s cross-country flight. After the game, Berhalter said asking Parkhurst to play a full 90 minutes would have been too much.

“He wanted to play, but I didn’t think it was worth the risk because of potential injury after all of that travel and training,” Berhalter said. “It was good to get him on the field and it’s good to have him back.”

Eric Gehrig replaced Parkhurst in the starting lineup. It was Gehrig’s first appearance of the season.

“I’ve been with Michael now for (a few) months and he’s honestly one of the classiest guys I’ve met in the game of soccer in my entire life,” Gehrig said. “He’s got that thing about him where when he walks in you can tell the genuineness and how nice of a guy he is. He’s been first-class since he’s gotten here both on and off the field. Obviously we feel for him but at the same time we’re happy to have him back.

“I’m sure he appreciated the ovation. I could hear it. It was a cool moment and something he’s going to appreciate.”

In his limited time, Parkhurst had a few touches and played left back while the Crew closed out the shutout. Berhalter and Parkhurst both praised the fans for the ovation they delivered when he entered the game. As the Crew’s players saluted the Nordecke cheering section after the final whistle, players such as Federico Higuain and Wil Trapp – who took over the captain’s armband in his place – embraced Parkhurst one by one.

“He’s been through a lot in these last couple days, and it’s nice for him to know that everyone supports him,” Berhalter said. “It’s the team, it’s the fans, it’s the community, and that’s really nice.”

As he stood inside the locker room, Parkhurst said it helps to have teammates able to deliver a ribbing.

“Absolutely it’s good to be back around the guys,” he said. “I wanted to come back here and get back to business as quick as possible and get my mind off of it and focus here on the Crew.”